~ Settled back in Jersey, heart still in Ireland….

World T&F Champs – 2

It’s nice to see that at least two sets of Crusaders’ parents and their young athletes are in Berlin for the athletics. This time last year they were just starting out, and now they are enthused enough to be wanting to see the best in action. In turn they will come back to Ireland with a new perspective on the sport. I received three texts yesterday, the last of which followed the 200m final.

The pick of the Irish performances since Loughnane’s silver has been Cork girl Derval O’Rourke’s 4th place in the 100m hurdles with a new Irish record. That was a blistering perfomance coming after several years in the wilderness. The Hesh didn’t quite make that remarkable 200m final, finishing 10th. Chamney went out in the first heat of the 800m, a disappointing championships for him after his big season to date. David Gillick is our last contender, going in the 400m final tonight.

Meanwhile Phillips Idowu grabbed triple jump gold, and Jenny Meadows battled down the home straight for a medal in the 800m. This was a just reward to an athlete that has worked hard over the years but has always been on the fringes, until now. Amazingly William Sharman (who he) blasts into the 110mH final and then finished fourth. Both Rutherford and Tomlinson are safely through to the long jump final, the former with a new British record of 8.30m. Steve Lewis makes the pole vault final as does Mo Farah (5000m) and Emily Freeman (200m).